PISCATAWAY — One wide receiver is starting for the Giants, another is contributing for the New England Patriots, but quarterback T.J. Yates will be back under center when North Carolina plays Rutgers on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ESPNU) at Rutgers Stadium.

And that’s not good news for Rutgers, considering Yates threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns in leading the Tar Heels to a 44-12 victory the last time the two programs met two years ago.

“”He was pretty darn good the night we played him,” Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said. “”I don’t know if he can be that much better than he was against us that night. He’s a proven veteran quarterback who has made a lot of big plays in the passing game.”

Yates was good, but it was North Carolina’s wideouts who exploited Rutgers’ secondary, with current Giants wideout Hakeem Nicks hauling in a pair of touchdowns among his six receptions and New England receiver Brandon Tate averaging 34.5 yards on his four catches, including a 69-yard touchdown.

A day after that defeat, Schiano not only cited a miscommunication between safety Courtney Greene and cornerback Jason McCourty for Nicks’ first touchdown, the Rutgers coach said Carolina’s “”two big plays came as a result of double-moves, which is something they do in their offense.”

“”We just didn’t do a good job of recognizing that and staying with them (and) it certainly created a problem,” Schiano said the morning after Rutgers’ humbling setback.

So will Rutgers’ secondary be better prepared to recognize North Carolina’s stop-and-go routes when their receivers go deep Saturday?

“”They better be,” Schiano said Tuesday, when asked exactly that during his weekly press conference. “”I can’t promise that we are. But we’re working on it. They do a great job, in an organized manner, of creating big-play opportunities. And that’s what they’ve done. “”And Yates is a guy that can make big plays. They’ve thrown it all over the lot. They have talented receivers. They look like clones — they’re all 6-4, tall, good-looking guys who can run.”

In Rutgers’ base secondary, strong safety Joe Lefeged and cornerbacks David Rowe and Brandon Bing all saw action the last time North Carolina was in town, while free safety Khaseem Greene watched from the sideline.

“”That game really made an impression on me,” said Rowe, a junior who served as Rutgers’ nickel corner that night. “”It really showed what college football is like. I got beat on a corner route by Tate, so yeah, it made an impression on me.”

Rowe said from the looks of North Carolina on tape, “”they like to do a lot of the same stuff.”

“”I think they’re just as good,” Rowe said. “”We’re just watching their film a lot, and just preparing for anything.”

“”We’ve done a lot of adjusting and from watching film there was a lot of stuff we needed to clean up,” Bing said. “”I just feel like we’re a better fit now. We’re a different secondary.”

Bing added he believes the secondary “”should be prepared” for North Carolina’s stop-and-go routes.

“”If we’re in man-to-man I have to deny my man the ball,” said Bing, who has 11 tackles, an interception and two blocked punts through the first two games. “”If the wide receiver runs a double move, that’s on me. I mean, the safety needs to help but that’s my man ultimately. I just feel like since that period of time there have been some techniques that changed.”

The way Greene sees it, Rutgers’ secondary will need to be “‘disciplined with our eyes” when reacting to North Carolina’s passing attack.

“”When you face a team that does double moves like they do, you always have to be disciplined with your eyes. That’s the key,” Greene said. “”It’s more just playing your technique, being sound with your skills. I think eye discipline is one of those things that we practice a lot so as long as we keep our eyes where they’re supposed to be I think we’ll be ok.”

Schiano agreed.

“”Defense is a reactionary thing,” the Rutgers coach said. “”Now we try to take the fight to them as much as possible but your still defending the formations that the offense gives you. You need to be able to adjust. Against a team like North Carolina, they shift and motion a great deal. They’re going to force defenses to think a great deal and move your feet right before the snap. We need to be ready to do that and we also have to be make sure we have our eyes in the right place.

“”Double moves are just that. If you take your eyes off and get curious and look at the quarterback, next thing you’ll see is a touchdown. So can we have eye discipline? Can we adjust? Those are the things we have to find out.”